WalletHub, Gavin Clarkson: 2016’s Cities with the Most Efficient Public Spending

Excerpts:
“Like Rome, no great city can be built in a day. A solid foundation for an ideal metropolis often develops over decades, even centuries, and through strong economic leadership. But with an excess of borrowing and a shortage of sound financial planning, cities can fall too deep into debt, as demonstrated by the rare municipality bankruptcies in recent years — a few notable cases including Detroit; Harrisburg, Penn.; and San Bernardino, Calif.

“In light of the looming tax filing deadline, WalletHub assessed how efficiently some of America’s largest urban centers spend taxpayer dollars on certain key expenditure categories, including education, law enforcement, and parks and recreation. Our analysts tallied the scores among 78 of the largest cities on these expenditures to identify those that most efficiently spend public resources. Although we could not account for all public spending, we believe that efficient spending in key areas is a strong indicator of the level of efficiency in other expenditure categories.”

Article includes national Main Findings with graphics and a searchable table, Ask the Experts, and Methodology.

Gavin Clarkson answers WalletHub’s questions:

What are the biggest issues facing city governments today?

How have city finances fared through the recession and economic recovery?

What are some best practices for effectively and efficiently managing cities?

What makes some cities better-run than others?

How can residents know whether their tax dollars are being used wisely by local authorities?